Sep 29, 2011

Dassault Systèmes:"Staying Alive": 3D Experience Helps Save Lives

Teaching People How to Administer First Aid Using 3D Online Experience Platform from Dassault Systèmes.

Dassault Systèmes today announced the launch of a 3D lifelike experience online called “Staying Alive”, developed in partnership with iLUMENS, a medical laboratory from Paris Descartes University, that uses simulation technologies for medical training. On the Staying Alive web site, both healthcare professionals and the public are able to learn appropriate behavior, movements and techniques that can contribute to saving the life of a person who has experienced sudden cardiac arrest.

Through this project, Dassault Systèmes illustrates its commitment to combating the issue of heart attacks, one of the public health sector’s biggest concerns, and explores new horizons for its digital solutions. In a virtual 3D world, anyone can train and practice the potentially lifesaving techniques. Healthcare professionals, as well as the public, can visualize and train to administer first aid, in a collaborative 3D environment using the Web. They can evaluate their results, and even have training sessions with friends, thanks to a Facebook application. This experience is aiming at helping to reduce the number of deaths related to cardiac arrest which kills more than 250,000 and 40,000 people each year in the United States and France, respectively.

”These realistic 3D virtual applications are much more than serious gaming. Anyone can rapidly learn by doing. Information is more easily retained,” explained Alexandre Mignon, MD, PhD, MBA, professor of Anesthesiology & Intensive Care Medicine, head of the iLUMENS, AP-HP. “Staying Alive is the first medical initiative of its kind whose objective is to provide the optimal training of the techniques, which can be repeated as often as necessary, before applying them to a real patient. This project, based on a realistic experience, enables anyone to learn the reflexes they need to adopt after having called for professional emergency help.”

Many medical equipment companies already use Dassault Systèmes solutions to design their products in 3D. One such company is Philips, whose HearthStart (HS1) defibrillator was especially conceived for use by non-professionals and is featured in the Staying Alive project in a virtual environment. People can manipulate this defibrillator in various situations, for training, simulation, communication and maintenance.

“We believe the virtual world can help improve the real world we live in,” said Frédéric Vacher, director, Content & Media Strategy Marketing, Dassault Systèmes. “We are providing the medical profession with the same technologies that have proven invaluable to so many other industries. With this new innovative and lifelike experience, we are opening the door to new types of uses for 3D simulation and for a new type of audience.”

There will be a series of similar medical experiences called MEDUSIMS™, to be launched shortly.

Staying Alive supports the World Heart Day, on September 29, 2011: www.world-heart-federation.org.

Staying Alive has received the support of the SFAR (Société Française d’Anesthésie et de Réanimation - www.sfar.org) and the CFRC (Conseil Français de Réanimation Cardio-pulmonaire – www.cfrc.fr).

The lifelike experience developed with Dassault Systèmes’ 3DVIA Studio, is available on www.stayingalive.fr/en and www.3dvia.com.